William pearson



(No Model.)

3'Sheets-Sheet 1. PEARSON. MAGHINE FOR UNITING KNIT names. No. 273,143. Patented Feb.,27, 1883.

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W. PEARSON. MACHINBFOR UNITING KNIT FABRICS.

Patented Feb.27, 1883.

Fl I N. PErEns. Pholo-limographer. wman mn, D.C.

3 Sheets-rSheeh 3.

(No Model.)

W/PBARSON. MACHINE-{FOR UNITING KNIT FABRI-GS.

Patented Feb.27, 1883.

A'IENT MACHINE FOR UNITING KNIT FABRlCS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 273,143, dated February 27, 1883.

Application filed December 23, 1880. Renewed December 8, 1882.

act description of the invention, which will en-' ableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which formapart of this specification, and in which- Figure l is aplan or top view of mymachine. Figs. 2 and3 are side elevations, representing opposite sides of the same. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical section laid through the center of the circular needle-disk. Fig. 5 is a perspective detail view of the needle, looper, gage-plate, and the co-operating part of the circular needle-disk, showing the needle and needle-arm at the end of their back-stroke. Fig. 6 is a similar view of the same parts, showing the needle and needle-arm at the end of their forward thrust. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the male cam with its slide for operating the needle-arm. Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section through one of the impaling-needles with its brass or fastening-plate on an enlarged scale, and Fig. 9 is a perspective detail view of the shaftand sliding sleeve which carries and operates the looper-arm and looper.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspondin g parts in all the figures.

My invention relates to machines for uniting or seaming the edges of knit or other looped fabrics, technically called looping-frames; and it consists, first, in the arrangement of the needle which operates in conjuuction with the looper soas to reciprocate from the base or butt-end of the needles upon which the pieces of fabric to be united are impaled toward their point; and, secondly, in the needle operating as above described, in combination with the tension mechanism and the looper, substantially as hereinafter more fully set forth, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying three sheets of drawings, A represents the stationarybase or frame of the machine, which is cast with rigid posts a a, forming boxes or bearings for the drivneedle-bar G is pivoted. its fulcrum upon an arm, a which projectslat- (No model.)

ing-shaft B. Post a has an arm, a which supports the box and vertical pintle of the rotating needle-disk, to be hereinafter described.

The driving-shaft may be operated either by a crank, I), or by a drive-pulley, 0. Upon the shaft are keyed an eccentric for operating the dog (J, and a combined eccentric and cam, D, by which the needle-bar and looper-arm are operated. This last-named cam has a swell, d, on one side and a flange, c, on the opposite side, upon which rides a slide or shoe,E,made with a stud,f, upon which one end of the bent Said needle-bar has orally from arm a the needle-bar being made with a sleeve, 9, which is placed over and rocks upon the arm or pintle (R. It is prevented from slipping off or from lateral displacement by the sleeve or collar h of the tension-arm H, which is fixed upon the outer end of arm a by the screw '5. v

I is the looper-arm, in one end of which is a sleeve, j, for the insertion of the looper K, which is held in place by thejam-screw 7c. The looper has a head suitable for catching and holding the loop of thread carried through the fabric by the needle, and the arm I has a sleeve, 1, which is placed upon a rod, 1, be-

tween the two posts a and a, the sleeve being shorter than the rod, sothat a com pound movement may be imparted to it and its arm I-- i. 0., a vibrating and a sliding motionbymeans of the combined eccentric and cam D, in the following manner: Sleeve lhas another arm, I, (see Fig. 4,) set at about right angles to the looper-arm I, and provided with a shoe, K, at its upper end, which rides upon the rim of the eccentric, against which it is held by the spring L. The eccntric gives a vibrating motion to the shoe and arm, and as the swell d reaches the shoe this is pushed to one side, causing the looper-arm I and looper K to be pushed to one side, or more crosswise to the needle, and pull the thread from the work as the needle withdraws, as will be here- 5 inaft-er more fully described. Spring L restores looper-arm.

The curved needle M is suitably secured to wheel P, as shown.

- tating the needle-disk may, however, be em ployed, if desired, without deviating from the spirit of my invention, as I do not limit myself to any particular means for imparting an intermittingly rotary motion to the needledisk.

The shape and construction of the needles which constitute the fringe around the disk will readily be understood by reference to Fig. 8 of the drawings, from which it will be seen that they are made with a rill or groove,o, extending from the point or outer end of the needle back to the point where the needle projects from the periphery of the disk. In other Words, that part of the needle (denoted by the letter at) which is clamped between the raised section at of the brass clamping-plates S is solid and not grooved, which of course greatly adds to its strength and rigidity at this point, or at its base.

Upon the front side of the stationary base, facing the rotary disk, is the combined guide and gage plate T, which is adjustable upon the base. This plate has a projecting lip, T, which is curved up over the fringe of needles, and has a notch, t, for the purpose hereinafter stated in describing the operation of the machine, which is as follows:

The work to be seamed is set up upon the impaling-pins O in substantially the same manner as knitted work is set up upon the needles of a knitting-machine, there being a pin for every loop through which the needle is to be passed at the place of such passage. The needle is then threaded, the thread passing between the tension-disks at the upper end of the arm H, which is adjusted (by means of its collar h and screw i) upon the arm a in such a manner that the thread carried bythe needle will slacken as the needle-point passes in its forward stroke or thrust the middle part of the groove 0 of the impaling pins or needles, but becometightened atthe beginning and termination of the forward and back strokes, this being effected by the vibrations of the needle-arm and the relative position of the needle-arm and tension-arm.

It will be observed that the needle with the thread enters the groove in the impaling-needles from the base or butt-end and not from the point, as in all other machines of this class as heretofore constructed. The advantage of this is obvious. Where, as in othermachines, the thread-needle enters the fabric to be secured from or in the direction of the point of the needles upon which the work is set up, it is apt to miss the impaling-needle and its loop if either of the needles are bent, however slightly. Thus a stitch is dropped and the machine has to be stopped,as the dropping or missing of a single stitch in the row will cause the whole seam to unravel; but by my improvement the elastic curved needle entering the fabric from the base or butt-end of the needles upon which it isset up is guided with the thread by the groove in the impaling-needie in, under, or over theloop supported thereon with absolute certainty, and if any of the impaling-needles should be bent upward that will not affect the operation of the machine, as they will still meet the elastic thread-needle and mutually straighten each other out, while if they are bent in a downward direction they will be straightened out by coming into contact with the combined guide and gage plate T previous to meeting the thread-needle, so that in either case the loop will be entered or passed and no stitch dropped. This certainty of operation of my machine is further enhanced by the arrangement of the tension, as hereinbet'ore described, which provides, by slackening the thread, for a large and loose loop at the moment the needle is ready to enter it, but tight ens up the work as the needle withdraws. As the looper, after forming the loop, slides to one side and releases the loop by slipping it over its head, the loop-thread is held in place by the notched lip T of the guide-plate, and this plate, it will be seen, also serves as a gage by pushing the fabric back from the points of the needles, the corner of the plate where the fabric meets it being beveled or rounded to afford an easy entrance of the fabric into the space between the plate and the rotatingdisk where the seaming takes place.

In machines as heretofore constructed the thread-needle, working from the point of the impaling-needles, pushes the work back upon the latter toward their base, making it more difficult to slip it off after seaming, and often causing bending of the needles during that operation-objections which I overcome in my machine, in which the Work is seamed nearer the points of the impaling or supporting needles than at their base, so that the work may readily be slipped off after seaming.

I do not limit myself to the precise construction of details, as hereinbefore shown; but

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States 1s- 1. In a machine for sewing the seams of knit or looped fabrics, a reciprocating needle entering the fabric to he seamed from the base or butt end of the pins or needles upon which said fabric is impaled, as set forth.

2. The combination, in a machine for sewing the seams of knit or looped fabrics, of the reciprocatin g needle entering the fabric from the base end of the impaling-pins, the looper, the

the tension device so adjiisted with reference cam that operates them, the interniittingly-roca ting needle-disk, and an arm for supporting" In testimony thatIolaim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed mysignatnre in pres- 1o ence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM PEARSON.

LoUIs BAGGER,

Witnesses: JAMES H. MANDEVILLE. 

